The Role of Bacteria in Urology

The aim of this book is to educate clinicians and basic scientists in the multiple roles that bacteria have as causative as well as therapeutic agents in urologic disease. Within this scope, clinicians will be introduced and educated about the basic mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis that lead to disease, as well as the non-pathogenic mechanisms that contribute to the prevention and treatment of patients. Conversely, basic scientists will be educated about the clinical implications of bacterial based therapeutics and infections. By combining the basic science and clinical views, this book will serve to bring both basic scientists and clinicians onto an even plain that may raise ideas for future collaborative research.

Dr. Dirk Lange is a microbiologist who earned his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario) on understanding the role of the capsular polysaccharide in the pathogenesis of Campylobacter jejuni.

Dr. Lange completed his post-doctoral fellowship at The Stone Centre at VGH with Dr. Ben Chew, where he contributed significantly to the area of urinary biomaterial design, providing a basic science perspective to understanding ureteral stent related morbidity. Due to his significant contributions to the research program at the Stone Centre, Dr. Lange was recruited to the Department of Urologic Sciences as an Assistant Professor in 2011, and is also the Director of Basic Science Research at the Stone Centre.

Dr. Ben Chew specializes in the surgical and medical treatment of kidney stone disease. Dr. Chew’s research focuses on how kidney stones form and in particular how we absorb certain compounds and minerals through the intestinal tract. By altering how we absorb compounds, his research hopes to be able to change a patient’s risk factors for developing more stones.

In 2017, Dr. Chew will be the Co-President of the World Congress of Endourology international meeting to be held in Vancouver, BC. He teaches other urologists internationally with lectures and hands-on laboratories as part of an initiative, The Stone Institute, to help improve the care of patients all over the world.